Prefabricated mounting bracket assembly

ABSTRACT

A bracket assembly supports an electrical box between wall studs. The bracket assembly includes an elongate vertical bracket having a first end for attachment to a horizontal stud and an opposed upper end. An elongate horizontal bracket is affixed to the upper end of the vertical bracket. The horizontal bracket includes a pair of opposed ends for attachment to spaced apart vertical studs. The horizontal bracket defines a frame including a plurality of openings. The frame accommodates on side thereof an electrical box about each opening and accommodates on the other side thereof a mud ring about each opening.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS:

This application claims priority o U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/100,302 filed on Sep. 26, 2008, the contents of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed generally to a mounting bracketassembly which supports an electrical. box and/or a mud ring within astructural wall. More particularly, the present invention relates to aprefabricated I-shaped mounting bracket which is affixed to a floortrack and to vertical studs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In order to install various electrical components such as outlets,switches and the like which are used for power, telecommunications anddata, boxes, housings or frames are typically used to support thedevice. One traditional method of mounting such boxes and frames is tomount these devices directly to the wall studs which support the wallboard.

While this technique adequately serves to support the electricaldevices, there are certain distinct disadvantages. Since the boxes andframes must be mounted to the studs, it limits the locations where suchdevices can be supported, inasmuch as the devices must be supportedadjacent the wall studs. Moreover, since these devices can be mountedvertically along the stud at any location, the installer must preciselymeasure and locate these devices to assure consistency with respect tothe height of installation of these devices, as well as compliance withapplicable codes and specifications.

In situations where it is desirous to mount boxes and frames somedistance from the stud, a bracket is often used. The brackets take twobasic different forms. The first is a horizontally mounted bracket whichgenerally mounts to two spaced apart vertical studs. The other type ofbracket is a vertical bracket which is mounted to a floor stud andextends upwardly.

As can be appreciated, the horizontal bracket suffers from the problemthat its height from the floor still must be accurately measured toassure consistency. Vertical brackets suffer from the problem that sinceit is mounted at one end in a cantilevered fashion, securement of thebox or bracket is riot always assured.

It is desirable, therefore, to provide an improved bracket assemblywhich overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a bracket assembly for supporting anelectrical box. The bracket assembly includes an elongate verticalbracket having a first end for attachment to a horizontal floor stud andan opposed upper end. An elongate horizontal bracket is affixed to theupper end of the vertical bracket. The horizontal bracket includes oneend for attachment to one vertical stud and an opposed end forattachment to another vertical stud spaced from the one stud. Thehorizontal bracket defines a frame including a plurality of openings.The frame is positioned to accommodate on one side thereof an electricalbox about each opening and for accommodating on the other side thereof amud ring about each opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of the mounting bracket assembly ofthe present invention shown secured to a floor track and wall studs.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective showings of the mounting bracket assemblyof the present invention supporting an electrical box.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the mounting bracket assembly of the presentinvention supporting an electrical box and a mud ring.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion of the mounting bracket assemblyof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is designed to support an electrical box and/ormud ring within a structural wall. The bracket assembly of the presentinvention is designed for “new work” projects where the box and mud ringare installed prior to placement of the wall board.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a mounting bracket assembly 10 of thepresent invention is shown. The mounting bracket assembly 10 is designedto be affixed to structural components which support the wall board (notshown) in residential and commercial construction. In particular, themounting bracket assembly 10 of the present invention is designed to besupported to a floor track 12 which extends horizontally and is securedto a floor and to spaced apart vertical wall studs 14 and 16 whichextend upwardly from floor track 12. While the present invention isshown primarily for use with U-shaped metallic track type studs, it maybe appreciated that the present invention may be employed with any typeof structural studs including wood studs.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a mounting bracket assembly 10 has generallya T-shaped construction including a vertical bracket 20 which is affixedat its upper end 22 to a horizontal bracket 24 at a central location 26thereof to form the T-shaped configuration. Vertical bracket 22 may beaffixed to the horizontal bracket 24 by a wide variety of techniquesincluding use of mechanical fasteners, welding or any other techniquewhich would permanently affix the components. It is also contemplatedthat the horizontal and vertical bracket could be formed as an integralunit.

The vertical bracket 20 includes at its lower end 28 a plurality ofattachment fingers 30. Attachment fingers 30 include a pair of spacedapart rear attachment fingers 30 a and a central forward attachmentfinger 30 b. The attachment fingers are slightly spaced apart in adepth-wise fashion so as to permit insertion of an upwardly extendingedge 12 a of floor track 12 thereinto.

The vertical bracket 20 has a length which is selected so that when thehorizontal bracket 24 is positioned thereover the electrical box orboxes which are attached to the horizontal bracket will be positioned atthe appropriate height from the floor. Different length verticalbrackets may be provided to accommodate different desirable positions ofthe electrical box.

The horizontal bracket 24 is selected to have a length which spans thespace between upwardly extending spaced apart vertical wall studs 14 and16. Different length horizontal brackets may be provided to accommodatedifferent spacings between the vertical wall studs.

Referring additionally to FIGS. 3 and 4, the horizontal bracket 24includes a plurality of horizontally spaced openings 33 whichaccommodate an electrical box 32 mounted to the rear surface 34 thereof.Box 32 may be a conventional rectangular outlet box having a boxinterior 32 a which is generally coextensive with opening 30 when thebox is positioned on the horizontal bracket 24. Use of other boxconfigurations is within the contemplation of the present invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, the horizontal bracket 24 is shown alsosupporting a mud ring 40 adjacent a front surface 36 thereof which isopposite rear surface 34. The mud ring 40 is also a conventionalstructure which is well known in the art. The mud ring 40 has a centralopening 43 and an attached flange 45 on either side of opening 43. Theattached flanges 45 include slotted channels 42 for mounting the mudring 40 to bracket 24 as will be described hereinbelow. The mud ring 40is used to provide the proper opening and for mounting electricalfixtures, covers and the like once the wall board is placed on thestuds.

The mounting of box electrical box 32 and mud ring 40 will be describedin further detail hereinbelow with respect to FIGS. 5-7.

The horizontal bracket 24 is affixed to spaced apart studs 14 and 16 byproviding a mounting surface 50 at each distal end thereof. Mountingsurfaces 50 are designed to be supported against the front face 14 a, 16a of vertical studs 14 and 16.

With additional reference to FIG. 7, the securement of horizontalbracket 24 to studs 14 and 16 may be further shown. Mounting surfaces 50each include a central aperture 52 which accommodates a captive screwassembly 54. Captive screw assembly 54 includes a screw 56 and awasher/backer 58. The screw 56 includes a screw head 56 a and a threadedshaft 56 b where the shaft is inserted through the aperture 52. Thewasher/backer 58, having an opening 58 a, is inserted over the shaft 56b once the screw is inserted through the aperture 52 to captively retainthe screw in the aperture 52. This opening 58 a may be T-shaped,cross-shaped or otherwise. It may also be made of metal, plastic or apaper product. Alternatively, aperture 52 on mounting surface 50 may besized to secure screw 56 by friction such that washer/backer 58 isoptional. In this regard, the screw 56 will be self-captive in aperture52 without need of the washer/backer 58.

It is contemplated that upon attachment of the horizontal bracket 24 tostuds 14 and 16, the screw 56 can then be screw inserted through theface of the vertical stud as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6. Duringinstallation, tine installer need not remove he washer/backer 58 as thescrew can be driven into the face of the stud with the washer remainingin place. The captive screw assembly 54 greatly reduces the time tosecure the bracket to the stud and prevents loss of the screw duringinstallation.

With reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 7, the mounting of the electrical boxto the horizontal bracket 24 is shown. As is typical, the electrical boxincludes at least a pair of mounting screws 37 at diagonal corners ofthe box which are insertable into tabs (not shown) extending inwardlytoward the box interior as is conventionally known. As particularlyshown in FIG. 7, the horizontal bracket 24 includes around each mountingopening 33 mounting structure which supports the box to the bracketusing the mounting screw 37 of the box. In one diagonal corner ofopening 30, the bracket 24 includes a pair of vertically andhorizontally spaced keyhole apertures 60. At the other diagonallyopposite corner, the bracket 24 includes a pair of generally U-shapedrecesses 70. As may be appreciated, the box 32 may be attached to therear surface 34 of horizontal bracket 24 by inserting the heads of themounting screws 37 through the wider extent 60 a of keyhole aperture 60.The screw 37 then drops to the narrow extent 60 b thus providing supportfor the screw within the aperture 60. Similarly, at the diagonallyopposite corner, the screw 57 would drop into one of the recesses 70 tosupport the box 38 at that corner. Two spaced apart keyhole apertures 60and mounting recesses 70 are provided so as to accommodate two differentsized boxes.

Once the box 32 is supported on bracket 24, the mud ring 40 may beapplied thereto as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The mud ring 40 can beapplied to the box screws 37 in conventional fashion using he slottedchannels 42 of the mud ring to place the mud ring over the opening 33.As can be seen particularly in FIG. 5, the box screws fit within theslotted channels 42 of mud ring 40. Thereafter, the screws 37 can betightened down securing both the mud ring 40 and the box 33 to thebracket.

Various changes to the foregoing described and shown structures wouldnow be evident to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, theparticularly disclosed scope of the invention is set forth in thefollowing claims.

1. A bracket assembly for supporting an electrical box comprising: anelongate vertical bracket, said bracket having a first end forattachment to a horizontal floor stud and an opposed upper end; anelongated horizontal bracket affixed to said upper end of said verticalbracket; said horizontal bracket including one end for attachment to onevertical stud and an opposed end for attachment to another vertical studspaced from said one stud; said horizontal bracket defining a frameincluding a plurality of openings, said frame for accommodating on oneside thereof an electrical box about each opening and for accommodatingon the other side thereof a mud-ring about each opening.
 2. A bracketassembly of claim 1 wherein said floor stud includes a floor track andwherein said first end of said vertical bracket includes attachmentfingers for attaching said first end to said floor track.
 3. A bracketassembly of claim 1 wherein each end of said horizontal bracket includesa mounting surface for engagement with said spaced apart vertical studs.4. A bracket assembly of claim 3 wherein each said mounting surfaceincludes a screw aperture therethrough and wherein each said screwaperture has a mounting screw captively retained therein.
 5. A bracketassembly of claim 4 wherein each said mounting screw has a headpositioned on one side of said mounting surface and a threaded shaftextending through said screw aperture, said threaded shaft havingsupported on the other side of said mounting surface a washer element tocaptively support said screw in said screw aperture.
 6. A bracketassembly of claim 4 wherein said mounting. screw is captively retainedwithin said screw aperture by friction.
 7. A bracket assembly of claim 1wherein said frame includes a plurality of mounting apertures arrangedabout each of said plurality of openings said box mounting aperturesbeing arranged to accommodate different size boxes.
 8. A bracketassembly of claim 7 wherein said mounting apertures are key-hole shapedapertures.
 9. A bracket assembly of claim 8 wherein said key-hole shapedapertures included a wide extent and a narrow extent, said wide extentbeing positioned vertically above said narrow extent.
 10. A bracketassembly of claim 7 wherein said mounting apertures further includerecesses formed within said frame opening, said recesses accommodatingmounting fasteners for supporting said box and said mud-ring.
 11. Abracket assembly for supporting an electric box comprising: an elongatevertical bracket, said bracket having a first end for attachment to ahorizontal floor track and an opposed upper end; an elongated horizontalbracket affixed to said upper end of said vertical bracket; saidhorizontal bracket including one end for attachment to one vertical studand an opposed end for attachment to another vertical stud spaced fromsaid one stud; each end of said horizontal bracket including a mountingsurface for engagement with said spaced apart vertical studs and whereineach mounting surface includes a screw aperture therethrough and whereineach screw aperture has a mounting screw captively retained therein. 12.A bracket assembly of claim 11 wherein each said mounting screw has ahead positioned on one side of said mounting surface and a threadedshaft extending through said screw aperture, said threaded shaft havingsupported on the other side of said mounting surface a washer element tocaptively support said screw in said screw aperture.